‘Little Lorraine’ is about the harsh realizations a normal guy faces when he agrees to work with his dishonest uncle.
Criminal careers often begin in desperation. Trying to support a family when there is no job prospects can lead to choices you never thought you’d have to make. There’s a reason a rise in unemployment generally corresponds with an upsurge in crime rates. This hopelessness is explored in another of this year’s TIFF selections, No Other Choice. Even though the protagonists in that film and Little Lorraine come from different worlds, hopelessness pushes them both into breaking the law to provide for their families. However, the man in the latter film has less control over his fate.
In 1986, a mining explosion in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia left 10 men dead. The mine’s closure leaves Jimmy (Stephen Amell) and his friends unemployed. Coincidentally, Jimmy’s dishonest Great Uncle Huey (Stephen McHattie) unexpectedly returns with a job offer. He wants Jimmy and his two best pals (Joshua Close and Steve Lund) to work on his lobster fishing boat. The guys are ecstatic to earn a living again, but Huey inevitably confirms their suspicions. He’s ensnared them in a cocaine smuggling operation. With all of their lives in danger, Jimmy focuses on the money and hopes they can survive long enough to squirrel away a healthy nest egg.
Jimmy knows better than to trust his uncle, but they’re desperate and Huey makes the fishing gig sound legit. Huey preys on their despair, knowing they’re short on options. However, Jimmy and his friends are all good men, and the guilt and shame of their illegal activities weigh heavily on their shoulders. While on land, they try to forget their work with drinking and drugs, which alongside their irritability only scares their loved ones more.
There’s a dreary quality to the film. It’s like dust from the mine sapped the colour out of everything, so they’re all just lacklustre versions of what they could be. It veils the film in melancholy that only intensifies the deeper Huey drags Jimmy into his business dealings.
The film is based on true events. Viewers empathize with the guys’ situation. They’re likeable, so audiences don’t want them to get mixed up in such a dangerous business. But once they’re on board, jumping ship becomes less feasible.
Unfortunately, there’s no world in which this arrangement doesn’t go bad. Huey is unpredictable and volatile. His confidence is as much an asset as it is a weakness. He acts like the big fish, but he’s really just a small fish in a big pond of larger, meaner killers. Now, there’s also an Interpol agent (J Balvin) circling the waters and he’s caught the scent of the drug ring.
McHattie is a great villain. He radiates a shady quality even when he’s trying to be nice. Family is important to the film’s characters, so they pretend to believe Huey’s turned over a new leaf. But audiences know they’re making a mistake. On the other hand, Amell quickly aligns viewers with Jimmy. He’s a stand-up guy that just can’t stop making bad choices.
In the end, it’s a crime drama rather than a thriller. There’s inevitable violence, but it feels grounded in harsh realities over glamorous illegalities.
Little Lorraine had its world premiere in the Discovery programme at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Read other reviews from the festival.
Director: Andy Hines
Starring: Stephen Amell, Stephen McHattie and Sean Astin
